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Almost 19,000 people a year in the UK are diagnosed with a case of cancer that could have been prevented if they were a healthy weight, according to a leading cancer scientist.
Professor Martin Wiseman, Medical and Scientific Adviser for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), has said about 18,600 of UK cancer cases could be prevented if everyone had a body mass index (BMI) under 25.
This would include cases of cancer of the breast; bowel; oesophagus; kidney; pancreas; endometrium (womb lining) and gallbladder.
And because WCRF recommends that people aim to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight, this means that even more cases could be prevented if everyone was as lean as possible within the healthy weight range, which in the UK is equivalent to a BMI of between 18.5 and 25. For example, scientists estimate someone at the top of the healthy weight range is 15 per cent more likely to develop bowel cancer than someone at the bottom of it.
Speaking ahead of Cancer Prevention Week, which starts on May 11, Prof Wiseman said: “The stark fact is that every year in this country, many thousands of people are diagnosed with cancer that could have been prevented if they had maintained a healthy weight.
“This is a real cause for concern and the problem is only going to get worse if the number of people who are overweight continues to rise.
“The evidence that being overweight puts you at increased risk of cancer is stronger now than ever before and we now say that, after not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight is the most important thing you can do for cancer prevention. This is the reason we recommend people aim to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight.
“But a recent survey showed almost 40 per cent of people still do not know that excess body fat is a cause of cancer. This means we need to do more work to spread the message that maintaining a healthy weight is something positive people can to reduce their risk of developing cancer later in life.”
Overall, scientists estimate that about a third of the most common cancers could be prevented if people ate healthily, were physically active and maintained a healthy weight.
As well as recommending people are as lean as possible without becoming underweight, WCRF also recommends people limit consumption of energy dense foods – which are foods that have a lot of calories for their weight – and avoid sugary drinks. This is because although they do not increase risk of cancer in their own right, they do increase risk of being overweight and this in turn increases risk of cancer.
Press Release
11th May 2009
World Cancer Research Fund
http://http://www.wcrf-uk.org/
